Lady Ellen Thomas-Stanford died on Friday 11 November 1932 at Preston Manor, her family home. With Ellen’s passing a door closed on the Edwardian age. But bodily death leaves a legal paper trail from which much can be discovered. Ellen’s … Continued

This year sees the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, a pair of political uprisings that would change the course of the 20th century. These momentous world-changing events were followed avidly by Ellen Thomas-Stanford at Preston Manor via correspondence with … Continued

Visitors to Preston Manor often ask how the Stanfords managed to maintain and finance not only the Manor itself but also the Pythouse estate in Wiltshire, 3 Ennismore Gardens in South Kensington, a yacht and large houses in Madeira and … Continued

In Vere Fane-Benett-Stanford, His Letters and Diary during the Great War, London, 1923 (henceforth abbreviated to Letters), a picture emerges of the last in the line of the Stanfords of Preston Manor, Brighton. Vere Fane-Benett-Stanford recorded many of his experiences of the First … Continued

Visitors to Preston Manor often ask how the Stanfords managed to maintain and finance not only the Manor itself but also the Pythouse estate in Wiltshire, 3 Ennismore Gardens in South Kensington, a yacht and large houses in Madeira and … Continued

I chose this rather curious title for a new-season event at Preston Manor because the real-life story we tell is such an astonishing one I wanted something suitably eye-catching. There are also intriguing parallels between fiction and fact … Continued